Cuba Allowing 2 Bishops to Broadcast for Holy Week

(April 11, 2006)Cuban authorities allowed two bishops to broadcast Holy Week messages on the radio. For one of the dioceses, it was a "first" under Fidel Castro. The developments were confirmed by Bishop Emilio Aranguren of Holguin, in a message addressed to the international charity “Aid to the Church in Need.” According to the prelate, the Office of Religious Affairs, affiliated with the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party,, permitted him and Bishop Dionisio García Ibáñez of Bayamo-Manzanillo, to broadcast radio messages for the start of Holy Week in their respective dioceses. In Holguin, it was the first time in 46 years that this took place. When Bishop Aranguren informed his faithful at the end of Mass last Saturday, the congregation gave a standing ovation. The Bishop explained that when he visits "the sick in their homes, I realize the large majority of them select foreign radio stations in order to hear religious messages. They need it for their faith. For this reason," he continued, "I have asked the authorities to let me address the sick, in order to encourage them to celebrate the great events in the life of Jesus Christ: his passion, death and resurrection. God willing, may I do that every week." In his 12-minute radio address, broadcast on Palm Sunday, the bishop also addressed the elderly, telling them: "I want to bring you a message of consolation, strength and hope. I know that you need this, just like all of us. When you hold a crucifix in your hands or look at Jesus Christ on the cross, I invite you to renew your trust in him. You will find a new disposition, a spiritual aptitude to continue to carry your cross with confidence, courage, dignity and hope," he said.